Sankey makes mild impact as Titans rookie

At least a couple of the Titans' 2014 draft picks already appear to be franchise building blocks.

First-round pick Taylor Lewan, for instance, made enough of an impact in six starts to assure coaches he's the team's left tackle of the future.

Along those same lines, fifth-round pick Avery Williamson should be a difference-making inside linebacker for years to come.

When it comes to second-round pick Bishop Sankey — the top running back selected in the draft — the situation isn't yet quite as clear.

He's proven himself a capable NFL back, stepping in as part of a committee to replace Chris Johnson and gaining 551 yards in 15 appearances that have included eight starts.

But many expected to see more by now of Sankey, who was the 54th overall selection last May.

His average of 3.7 yards per carry is tied for 28th in the league among running backs with at least 100 carries, and that average is sixth among rookie running backs in the same category. In addition, Sankey has posted just one run of more than 20 yards, a 22-yard scamper against Jacksonville in October.

Over his last three games, Sankey, playing behind a patchwork offensive line, has 26 carries for 77 yards — an average of just under three yards per carry.

"I think my season's gone all right," Sankey said. "Obviously it's not perfect. I think the biggest thing for me is being consistent and picking up positive yards regardless of how it's looking. It's not always going to be a clean shot every time. But one of the things I have to work on is hitting the hole harder and just trying to pick up the four or five yards consistently."

Consistency seems to be the buzzword most often used by those who evaluate Sankey on a regular basis.

Titans running backs coach Sylvester Croom said Sankey has "had some ups and downs, as any rookie would," but would like to see the former University of Washington star make strides in rushing and pass-blocking. Improvement in the latter category would likely allow Sankey to get on the field more often in third-down situations, where the Titans have turned to Leon Washington or Dexter McCluster this year.

"He does a pretty good job physically pass-blocking, but the assignments and recognizing defenses in different situations is where to we have to be more consistent," Croom said. "Overall, it's consistency in every area of his game. When he gets that down and performs on a consistent level, he'll be a solid pro."

Sankey, who ran for more than 1,400 yards in each of his last two seasons at Washington, sees at least one area where he needs to better his rushing performance.

"I think the biggest thing is just being patient, still being patient past the line of scrimmage," Sankey said. "It's really just having an idea where the play is going to open up before it actually happens.

"It's a matter of getting a better feel for that. There's been some times where I felt like I had a good feel for it, and other times where I got a little impatient, a little anxious."

The running game problems of the Titans, who rank 27th in the league in that department, can hardly be dumped in Sankey's lap alone.

One issue is that the team's inability to stay on the field has resulted in an average of just 22 rushing attempts, the third-worst figure in the league.

A second issue is that the offensive line — which struggled to open holes even when healthy — has been decimated by injuries. Three starters are on injured reserve and Lewan has missed the last four games due to injury.

"I think it's a team thing as much as anything," Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt said in regard to Sankey's rushing numbers.

"Bishop's a young player and he's working hard. We haven't done a good job of situationally being able to run the football. So all that factors into it. As I've said, I'd like to have seen a time where we could get him a lot of carries and seen how he develops, but he's shown flashes of doing a lot of good things."

Croom said it's too early to make judgments on Sankey.

"He's just a rookie, and he came from an offensive system that's totally different from what we're doing, run- and pass-wise," Croom said. "So he still has a lot to learn. But the good thing is that his body has held up and he works at it, so I think the future will be bright for him."

Reach John Glennon at 615-259-8262 and on Twitter @glennonsports.

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